CC Minutes - 10/31/11 Work Session

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Mr. Clark expressed support for the motion but suggested that holding emergency council meetings to decide just exactly how the council was going to capitulate to Occupy Eugene was farcical at best. He wanted the council to treat everyone equally and suggested that many citizens did not believe that was the case for Occupy Eugene. Mr. Poling agreed with the remarks of Mr. Clark. He said his review of national events reaffirmed his previous concerns about the eventual outcome of the Occupy Eugene protests. He believed Mr. Brown was sending a dangerous message by suggesting he would support Occupy Eugene moving to any City - owned property. He said the longer the City allowed Occupy Eugene to continue, the more likely it was to find itself on the same path as communities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Portland, which had to forcibly evict "Occupy" protesters from publicly owned spaces. He said Occupy Eugene was wearing out its welcome. He believed the group had got its message out. Mr. Poling advocated for equal and fair enforcement of City ordinances. He understood that as a result of the "Occupy" movement, organizations across the United States were filing suit against cities now allowing "Occupy" encampments to operate without permit to recover the fees they had to pay to hold special events in public spaces. He suggested the same thing could happen in Eugene. Mr. Poling said he would support the motion but would not support a motion to allow Occupy Eugene to camp on any other City -owned property. Mayor Piercy commended the Occupy Eugene protestors as respectful and civil individuals who cared deeply about national and local issues. She had attended the Harlow Neighborhood Association meeting and heard those in attendance applaud the EPD for its work with Occupy Eugene and had felt pride in the department. She said the community had a homeless issue before Occupy Eugene. Because of the group's concerns about inequities at the national and local level, Occupy Eugene participants had tried to open their hearts and time to the plight of the homeless and had been sensitive about working with youth and people with mental health issues. She suggested that Occupy Eugene had helped the community focus on the problem of the homeless, who had been there all along but whose presence was highlighted by the protest. She anticipated further community discussion would occur as a result. Mr. Farr noted the community's long history of work to address the problems of homelessness as well as his request that the Council Committee on Homelessness and Youth be reconvened. He thought that Eugene was prepared to respond to the homeless problem in a prepared manner. Mr. Farr expressed concern about the costs of Occupy Eugene on the City organization, noting 13 paid staff was present in the audience. He believed that was of concern to taxpayers, particularly at a time when other priorities went unfunded. Mr. Farr recalled that Chief Kerns estimated the City's costs the previous week at $20,000. He did not think Eugene had the resources to spend money to respond to Occupy Eugene each time it chose to move. Mr. Farr also pointed out the camping could affect wildlife living along the Millrace. He did not think the situation was tenable. He would support the motion but would not support future exemptions. Mr. Farr determined from City Attorney Glenn Klein that the City's camping ordinance applied to all public property inside the city limits, but it was not clear that the City had the authority to create and apply such regulations to property owned by the State or federal governments. In response to a follow -up question from Mr. Farr, Mr. Klein confirmed that another part of the code spoke to camping on private property. Ms. Ortiz was not aware of what other cities were doing in regard to the Occupy movement. However, she said as long as Occupy Eugene was willing to talk to the City, the City should talk to Occupy Eugene. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 31, 2011 Page 3 Special Meeting